Both sides of the abortion struggle have been so muddled and
polluted by individuals with their own agendas that the entire
issue has devolved into a fight of religions, beliefs and those
just wishing to pick a fight. I hope to clearly and definitively
explain both sides of the abortion issue in hopes that a truly
informed individual will make the best decision possible. I will
not try to hide the fact that I am a strong believer in the right
to life, but I want to make it clear that I did not start out that
way. It was not until I was able to see underneath the superficial
arguments surrounding the issue that I realized every individual
believes in both the right to life — otherwise suicide would be the
norm — and in the right to choose, or our consumer driven society
would not exist. With that said, there is a very real difference
between choosing an abortion and not choosing an abortion, but
before we truly understand both sides of the issue we must discuss
what most believe to be a very fundamental idea behind the abortion
argument: Is a human embryo a human life? Let's look at both the
"life" and "choice" components of the struggle.

The abortion debate is about the very essence of our country and
what our constitution means. It's great to have an opinion — either
pro-abortion rights or anti-abortion — and share it with others. It
is something very different to attempt to legally force a religious
view on others. This debate occurs over and over again in a wide
range of issues: stem-cell research, same-sex marriage and
adoption.

Both sides of the abortion struggle have been so muddled and
polluted by individuals with their own agendas that the entire
issue has evolved and devolved into a fight of religions, beliefs
and those just wishing to pick a fight. I hope to clearly and
definitively explain both sides of the abortion issue in hopes that
a truly informed individual will make the best decision possible. I
will not try to hide the fact that I am a strong believer in the
right to life, but I want to make it clear that I did not start out
that way. It was not until I was able to see underneath the
superficial arguments surrounding the issue that I realized every
individual believes in both the right to life — otherwise suicide
would be the norm — and in the right to choose, or our consumer
driven society would not exist. Before we truly understand both
sides of the issue, we must first come to agreement to what most
believe to be a very fundamental idea of the abortion issue: Is a
human embryo a human life? Let's look at both the "life" and
"choice" components of the struggle:

The start of March this year kicked off a University-wide energy
contest aimed at reducing electrical energy usage. This month long
contest, sponsored by University Facilities and Capital Planning,
campus deans and Public Service Electric and Gas Company, is
designed as a "Campus vs. Campus" Energy Competition where the five
campuses will be competing to lower their percentage of electrical
energy usage for the month of March. The campus that is able to
reduce the percentage of electrical energy consumption the most
compared to the month of March last year will win a roving trophy
that will be presented on Earth Day, April 22.

Why do I vehemently advocate and defend the position that the
legalization of marijuana is an endeavor worth pursuing with
conviction and dedication? Because I believe the law should strive
to be virtuous, and unjust laws ought to be challenged and
repealed. I believe that the United States Constitution is the
closest embodiment of a sovereign authority that the people of this
great country should ever heed. I believe it is imperative for
society to adapt and mature in unison with the ever-changing
present. I know that sometimes the popular opinion is not always
the peoples' opinion. Furthermore, I find hypocrisy a vile and
grotesque disservice to one's soul. This wretched form of deception
is born from loins of deceit and cloaked in a coat of virtue — a
wolf in sheep's clothing is a despicable coward who is of a far
greater threat than the wolf himself. Any society, social group or
individual who finds the thought of legalizing marijuana
reprehensible and scowls at the utterance of such, yet condones the
drinking of alcohol and smoking of tobacco, has unfairly and
without thought made a hypocritical decision.

I am writing in response to the opinion piece "Lieberman
influencing Israeli politics," which appeared on Feb. 25. I am not
here to condone or defend all of Lieberman's policies, but the
people voted for him for a reason. He received 15 seats in the
Israeli Parliament because he is not afraid to voice his opinion
when many citizens are still living in fear from the continuing
violence from Gaza. People were fed up with the current situation:
a government that doesn't defend its citizens and a peace process
with no serious partners, and he represents a fresh approach to
Israeli politics.

Did you know the Rutgers University Student Assembly planned to
vote on a newly proposed constitution on Thursday, which, if
approved, would have only required support from only 2 percent of
Rutgers students to be adopted by RUSA? Do you even know what RUSA
is? Don't worry if your answer is "no," you are not alone — most
students have no idea that Rutgers has a student assembly.

The Middle East has never been the most tranquil place, but
recent events in Israel and the Palestinian territories have
created more turmoil than usual. Israel's Operation Cast Lead left
hundreds of Gazans dead and many more wounded. It also led to a lot
of psychological distress for at least 15 Israeli casualties and
civilian residents within the range of the Hamas rockets. With
unilateral, fragile ceasefires in place, things have been
relatively quiet since then. Also in this interceding time Israel
has held elections, whose outcome may change the direction of
Israeli policy.

In a recent poll done by the esteemed Pew Research Center for
the People and the Press, only 45 percent of Americans surveyed
believe that global warming exists. Do not blame the country
bumpkin Republicans, because only 58 percent of Democrats believe
global warming exists. At the same time, a Washington Times article
showed 44 percent of Americans believe in ghosts, 36 percent say
that UFOs are real and 31 percent believe in witches and
astrology.

I applaud Roger Sheng's column that ran on Feb. 16. I agree with
most of it. This may seem trivial, but I take issue with his use of
the word "mistake." It shows a fundamental misunderstanding of
science, and it is that same misunderstanding that proponents of
Creationism and "Intelligent Design" exploit to dress up their
ideas as pseudo-science.

The article "Diverse job market recruits U. students" in
yesterday's University section painted an unrepresentative picture
of the New Jersey Career Day held last Friday in the Rutgers
Student Center on the College Avenue campus. Having worked at The
Daily Targum personally, we're sure it wasn't the writer's fault
for trying to accentuate the positive nature of a "University"
event. Even so, there are some grievances that deserve
attention.

In his most recent column for The Daily Targum, "When the going
gets tough…", Josh Baker makes several dubious claims with regards
to the current state of politics in Washington. Baker, the Targum's
consistent hardcore liberal voice, argues that the Republican Party
has rudely and systematically rejected the bipartisan efforts of
President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party coalition.
According to the writer, members of the GOP should be repudiated
for their consistent opposition to the liberal Democrat's agenda.
Sen. John McCain might say I fundamentally disagree with these
claims herein.

I write to you as a black woman who ran for the position of, and
served as, the first corresponding secretary of the Rutgers
University Student Assembly, alongside Dana Jackson, the first vice
president of the assembly — also a black woman — and James Kline,
the first president of RUSA — openly gay. I was originally drawn
into student government in 2006 by Celeste Baretto, a Latina, who
was the president of the Douglass College Governing Association,
now known as the Douglass Governing Council, led by President
Mangelin Rivera, also Latina. While the information I provide to
you above may seem unnecessary and is not even a complete list of
people from various cultures or special populations who serve in
student government, it is the basis for my utter annoyance with the
current petition about cultural umbrella organizations' and special
populations' lack of representation in the proposed RUSA
constitution.

I consider myself a citizen of change — a free spirit looking
for a peaceful agreement to everything plaguing the most narrow of
minds. But as I become older (and wiser?), I seem to follow the
simple advice of the most infamous philosophers while ignoring what
seems to be the "conscious" approach to human nature. Still the
best advice I have ever read in a book comes from that of my
beloved Friedrich Nietzsche: "To predict the behavior of ordinary
people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always
try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible
expenditure of intelligence." This seems to be the rule these days,
no longer the exception.

This month marks the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's
birth in backwoods Kentucky. No American has surpassed, or likely
will ever surpass, his accomplishments in public, political
leadership. As our Civil War president, Lincoln attained greatness
in myriad ways that have been revered by millions, but two of his
achievements stand out above the rest.

The article, "Web sites assist with soaring textbook costs" that
appeared in the Feb. 9 issue did not accurately represent the
realities of today's textbook market. Nor did it make clear that
textbook publishers' primary focus is on meeting the educational
needs of students while holding down the cost of course
materials.

Three things that I couldn't love more and can't stand to see
people without are capitalism, freedom and food. Being an economics
major and a strong admirer of University alumnus Milton Friedman, I
feel compelled to write this letter to the University community for
the same reasons Friedman wrote his books for the world. Obviously,
the University is more proud to have had Paul Robeson, a socialist
who favored socialism and government planning, walk its halls
rather than Nobel Prize winner Friedman, a man who championed
freedom and choice. This is apparent by the buildings like cultural
centers, libraries and campus centers that bear Robeson's name
while there is nothing at the University — to my knowledge — named
after Friedman. Justly so, because in the University's current
state Friedman wouldn't want his name attached to anything on
campus because it is going in the opposite direction of what he
stood for.

This letter is in response to the letter yesterday regarding air
strikes on Pakistan. The author argues that "liberals refuse to
acknowledge" former President George W. Bush's so-called success at
preventing another terrorist attack on American soil since Sept.
11. What he and other defenders of the former president fail to
realize is that the terrible attacks of Sept. 11 did in fact happen
on President Bush's watch.